The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1887-04-15

/ OTue8l! WHY udu the All w iSc LdAcu
me fer this terrible fate, instead of an
| Otherp
"Then. with revulsion of feeling.
thought of Him who had stilled the
storm. and who rebuked His compan.
ions by saying: why are ye fearful, @
We of little faith?'
My mind somehow reverted to the
above passage again and again, and
seemed to grow strong in faith. There
were a hundred ways by which l might
be saved yet, before the dreaded train
arrived. At least. if die must, IwOuld
die like o man, with no foolish bias
phemy.
II struggled to move. but the strug'
gle only seemed to tighten the cords.
Suddenly shock of horror ran
through me with such intensity that
came near losing my senses. As before
mentioned. my head lay upon one OF
the rails of the railrOad-track, my left
ear being pressed close down upon the
iron, and had as yet been unable to
turn myself over i'm the least, On ac-
count of the rope around my neck
holding my head in so firm position.
Lying thus, with my ear to the
track, l heard. or rather felt, faint
jar communicated to the iron rail.
"With horror unutterable listened;
with an unnatural fascination born of
despair.
Eyes. the rail seemed to tremble; and
now a PARKWAY, low. murmuring sound
could be heard. Ii ,cas the cypress train
coming
perhaps it was still miles away, but
it was drd,oing nearer.
II could now. in my recumbent posi-
ton. with my ear pressed upon the
track. distinctly hear the far-away
rumble made by the train.
Fear and agony lent me additional
strength. Ijerked my feet up with all
my might. and came very near strang-
ling myself by the effort.
"Then l lay perfectly still for fall
minute, endeavoring to catch my
breath. My desperate effort to break
loose had the effect of tightening the
cord around my neck to such Il degree
that at each respiration 1 emitted a
peculiar whistling noise, not unlike the
sound made by a child suffering with a
bad attack of membraneOus Group.
"When l had sufficiently recovered
to take in my surroundings again. l
heard mans voice. apparently quite
near. and listened wildly for repeti-
ton of the sound. 1t soon came, and
these were the words: Il heard some-
body whistle, somewhere about here
"'Oh, it must have been something
else. answered another voice.
"'No." said the first speaker. 4 know
l heard something whistle, and if it is
the horse thieves, we'll have them be-
fore morning.
Il knew that these must be the
voices of members of the vigilance COM
mittee, beating the country for the
thieves, and who. if they were made
aware of my position, would quickly
relieve me.
"And now, how frightfully near the
train seemed to be! l could hear the
steady roar rs it swept onward toward
me, and with wild agony l once
more desperately strOve with my
bonds.
'This time l was so effectually
choked by my violent exertion tina. l
quite lost my senses for l know not
how long. but gradually recovering.
and gasping heavily for breath, l open
ed my eyes and saw lurid tinge light
ing up the trees and the heavens, be-
You'd the bend in the track.
1.-The locomotive was bearing down
upon me with lightning speed. and
soon all would be over; few more
minutes, or perhaps seconds. and l
would be ground to pieces under the
wheels.
81 now fully realized that it was USE
less for me to struggle further, as had
not time TO liberate myself even if such
a thing was possible.
81 had struggled SO desperately that
mind and body were in an exhausted
state. and quietly lay there awaiting
the shock. thinking that my agony of
mind and body would soon be over.
But as this thought passed through my
mind. the voice l had heard before
again broke the stiffness: .Itell you l
heard it again. and it sounded just like
a person half-cloked,' and then l saw {,
person slowly emerge from the gloom.
very near, and little in front of me,
within range of my vision, and approach
directly towards me.
81 recollect thinking how slowly and
deliberately this man approached. when
there was such need of great haste.
"All at once. and just as the stranger
had drawn near me, binding glare
came around the bend, and the roar of
the express train filled the air. At the
same instant that the headlight of the
locomotive came into view l recollect
hearing the stranger yell. in a tone of
horror: John! quick! here's man
tied dozen on the track"
"After that have no clear recollec-
ton, but can dimly remember, like
seeing through haze, that some one
savagely tore up the stakes and drag
ged me roughly around-a binding
glare and a terrific roar and rush, and
that was the last 1 knew of any thing
until two days after.
81 then woke up and found myself
lying on bed within room, while
Sovor,l ,,,on stood ornund Ono M